With the rights to Daredevil set to revert to Marvel on October 10th, 20th Century Fox is anxious to start production on a reboot. With director David Slade having exited, Fox is now looking at Joe Carnahan (The Grey) to helm. While solidifying a director is a step in the right direction, the deadline still looms. Luckily, Fox has been in talks with Marvel for a character swap of sorts, an arrangement that, if both studios agree, could keep the “Frank Miller-esque, hardcore 70s thriller” version of Daredevil at Fox while bringing some big players back to Marvel. Hit the jump to find out who.

News of Fox’s interest in Carnahan to helm Daredevil comes via Variety. No official offer has been extended as of this writing, but their sources say that Carnahan is the man. The report also mentions a property swap that would allow the blind superhero, Matt Murdock, to take the screen for Fox. Think of it as a really expensive version of you and your friend exchanging prized comic books:

Marvel: “Okay, you can keep Daredevil a little longer. But what will you give me in return?”

Fox: “How about…Fantastic Four? You can have Galactus and maybe even the Silver Surfer.”

Basically, Daredevil could stay at Fox past the October 10th deadline in exchange for Marvel’s use of Fantastic Four characters (like Galactus and Silver Surfer) in future films. Currently, the Surfer is locked up in Fox’s reboot of Fantastic Four with director Josh Trank (Chronicle). The decision lies with Fox as to whether to take Marvel’s offer or to let Daredevil swing off the lot. Keep an eye out for more as this story develops.

Update: As of the posting of this article, Carnahan himself wrote a cryptic Tweet that said only:

While it may mean less than nothing, I did a search for Daredevil #73 and came up with this quote:

I’m not a pawn — You can’t make me fight against my will!

– Matthew Murdock (Earth-616)

And this cover image:

Let’s keep in mind that current reports have yet to confirm an official offer to Carnahan and a simple Tweet doesn’t change that. However, it’s always fun to speculate on what it could mean. Maybe Carnahan pulled from this issue to drum up his vision/treatment of the Daredevil script? Maybe the Zodiac group will appear to challenge the masked vigilante?

Or maybe, now stick with me, there’s more to the Marvel/Fox character swap talks than meets the eye. Could we actually see a studio crossover that features a cameo from Iron Man and/or Nick Fury at the end of the Daredevil reboot in order to recruit the Man Without Fear into his proper place on the Avengers?! The Zodiac group did appear as antagonists to the Avengers, so perhaps some version of that storyline is in the works. Or perhaps Carnahan just likes to yank our chain and watch us squirm. What do you think, fans?